Running Your Own Short Term Rental: How and Where to Start
In this article, I’m going to break down the general steps you will need to take to start listing your home on popular short term rental websites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking. It’s pretty simple to be honest. All you have to do it the following:
Find a property to list as a short term rental on websites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.
Check if you need to apply for any permits to rent it out as a short term rental in your area.
Start building your listing!
Here are some more details about each of those steps:
1. Find a property to list as a short term rental on websites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.
A lot of folks may ask… “but, properties are expensive, do I need to own my own property to be able to list it online as a short term rental?” Well, the answer to that is no. You don’t necessarily need to own the property that you list online as a short term rental.
You can either own the property or rent it while having an agreement in place with the owner to sublease it as a vacation rental. This can be an apartment, house, guest house, teepee, RV, treehouse, boathouse, and the list goes on and on of all the possibilities.
You can use a tool like AirDNA to estimate how much your property could generate in extra income for you, and you may also consider using a service provided by companies such as Host Financial to help you qualify for a loan program specifically created for short term rental investors.
AirDNA: Use analytics and market data to find lucrative rental properties.
Host Financial: Qualify to purchase or refinance short term rental properties using rental income rather than your personal income.
2. Check if you need to apply for any permits to rent it out as a short term rental in your area.
One of the biggest questions that come up when considering the idea of renting a property as a short term rental or vacation home, is how to find local laws and other legal restrictions on short-term rentals that would apply to a particular property. Every city may have slightly different rules, and new ordinances have brought several changes to the regulations over the years, so it can be pretty confusing to find the most updated information.
You can start researching the rules and regulations about short term rentals in your area using the links I provide below. If you need a permit to be able to rent your place as a short term rental, you can either choose to apply for it, or you can rent your place for longer periods (for example, only offer it for stays that are a minimum of 30 nights or 3 months long leases, etc).
All the Rooms: Research the short term rental permit requirements, regulations and tax rules by state & city.
Airbnb
Municode: Website database that can help you find your local municipal or administrative code, or your local government’s website.
The Airbnb website has a summary of the legal requirements of about 100 cities and counties, with links for more information. If your city isn't listed there, the first place to check is your local municipal or administrative code, which might be available online at your local government's website. To find yours, check out State & Local or Municode.
A call to your city's zoning board or local housing authority could also prove fruitful. You might also check out the Short Term Rental Advocacy Center for information on restrictions on short-term rentals.
If you own a condo or coop, ask your homeowners' association or coop board about its short-term rental policies.
If you're a renter, check your lease or rental agreement and talk to your landlord before renting out your unit.
3. Start building your listing!
Once you have your placed furnished, you can take some quick photos of the space with your smartphone or camera and start creating your listing on Airbnb by clicking here.
If you come across any questions or issues while creating your listing, you can let me know and I'll try my best to help you out.
You can also find a whole bunch of tips and useful info in Airbnb's Resource Center.
